Impractical Quarrel
by foureyesfreak27
Summary: One-shot. Dearka Elsman was a highly amused spectator as he watched his two best friends give each other the silent treatment.


**Impractical Quarrel**

foureyesfreak27

 **Summary:** One-shot. Dearka Elsman was a highly amused spectator as he watched his two best friends give each other the silent treatment.

 **Character(s):** Yzak Joule, Shiho Hahnenfuss, and Dearka Elsman

 **A/N:** I have always wanted to write a one-shot for the ShiZak pair. :D This story has been dwelled on far too long so I'd figure that I should publish it sooner or later and now is the perfect time. Originally, I wanted to publish it on March 30th in honor of Shiho's birthday, but well, yeah, stuff happened. Anyways, enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny.

 **Warning:** This chapter has not been fully edited yet. Please excuse any grammatical errors.

* * *

.

Dearka deduced that his best friend of almost eighteen years and counting was silent— _unnervingly_ silent, and that he looked like a self-walking time bomber that was vulnerable of exploding at any given moment. He mutely watched his best friend scowled at the poor document before him, and from the looks of it, the silver-head was still on the same exact page he has been reading for the past fifteen minutes. Every now and then, he spectated his best friend's action from the corners of his eyes, observing how one minute the silver-head would be mumbling some nonsensical sentences along the line of 'infuriating' and 'stubborn' to being visibly brooding in broad daylight the very next. This peculiar action of his has been going on and off the whole day and believe it or not, Dearka was worried that his best friend's sudden mood swings was taking quite a toll on him. Not to mention, it had a direct impact on their work, particularly in their division.

Sure, his best friend was not the most social person out there, it was due to his quick-tempered streak that tends to get the best of him. Needless to say, Yzak was an anti-social human who unfortunately was bestowed the ability to be uncommunicative. Today, Dearka watched in utter astonishment and mortification as Yzak would visibly snapped at one soldier after another during a mock stimulation, reprimanding each and every one of them from how slightly crooked their ZAFT salutes were to a simple lonesome crease on their uniforms. The Joule Squadron was accustomed to their commanding officer's infamous strict reigning for he was notorious for ruling his team with an iron fist. But somehow, particularly today, they noted that their commander was peculiarly sensitive, frowning at the smallest possible mistakes that were made here and there. One brave soldier had asked if someone had ticked the silver-head off. The whole Joule Team watched in horror as the brooding commander marched towards the said soldier and glared menacingly and began to put the man in place, calling him out for an unjustly question. The poor soldier gulped and quivered in fear for he concluded that he had made a grave error; a mistake he thoroughly regretted after receiving a punishment that his commander deemed suitable for him, which was being assigned to KP duty in the galley for a month and in addition he was to run forty laps around the _entire_ ZAFT Military Headquarters. Fearing for their well-being, the rest of the squadron wisely decided to keep their mouth shut for the remaining duration of the training.

And now, here the tanned blond was; sitting right across the said man in the latter's office going through one document after another. The overwhelming feeling of uneasiness that he had been experiencing was practically suffocating the blond man. He witnessed his brooding best friend running a pale hand through his locks in clear vexation for the umpteenth time today and finally, Dearka could not take it any longer.

"So," Dearka drawled out, casually. "Anything happened today?" He kept his eyes trailed on the document at hand, feigning an interest to the document that pertains the boring budget expense report for their division this month. From his marginal view, he discerned that the silver-head paused his movement of writing before garnering him a deadpanned look.

"Nothing happened," Yzak spat, insistently. The venomous tone that he used made Dearka almost chuckled for the latter knew all too well that his best friend was one horrible liar.

"Uh-huh, and pigs can fly," the tan-skinned blond mused, peering surreptitiously from the report before him to the seething man across the table. The comment was not appreciated by the silver-head for the latter was glaring darkly at his second-in-command.

"I could always write you up for insubordination," Yzak threatened, flatly. Irritation etched on his face as he glared at the Black Coat.

Dearka shrugged indifferently, unfazed by the empty threat for he knew far too well that Yzak needed him and wouldn't take such a drastic measure. Instead, he simply laughed mirthfully. "Sure, go ahead and try. I'm sure that you will enjoy my load of work on top of your piles."

Yzak scowled.

His friend continued, seemingly unware the fire the former had ignited from him. "And judging by how you're being intensively sensitive today; something must've happened."

" _Nothing_ happened," he refuted insistently through gritted teeth once again.

The blond rolled his eyes. "And I'm a Natural."

The silver-haired man grumbled. "Just shut up, Elsman. I am perfectly peachy today. I have no idea what you're talking about," he denied, vehemently. Oh, how he wish he'd believe his best friend.

Another shrugged was ensued by the blond in nonchalance as he gazed back to the files at hand with disinterest. "Well, I'm all ears. Let me know when you're ready to let it all out."

Dearka silently chuckled to himself as he watched his friend grudgingly divert his attention back to the paperwork before him. Seeing just how perturbed his best friend was, there was no way that he would keep it all inside. As his designated human punching bag, Dearka would be the friend that Yzak would sought out for whenever he needed to vent out his frustration—through screaming, rambling, and talking utter nonsense over a boxing match at the gym. Not desiring to be a punching bag later today since tonight he has a date with Miriallia, he decided that he'll eventually make the irritable man confess to his sudden sullen mood. He peaked at his wrist watch and silently counted down for he knew that sooner or later the brooding man would eventually unleash his vexation since by the looks of it, he was going to blow up any seconds now—Yzak's red face was a telltale to the blond's theory—in;

 _Five…_

 _Four…_

 _Three…_

 _Two…_

 _One—_

" _THAT INSUFFERABLE WOMAN WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME!"_ Yzak suddenly exclaimed in consternation, unleashing all his turmoil of emotions in that one sentence. He watched from the corners of his eyes—highly amused—as Yzak abruptly stood up, palms slamming against his mahogany desk as a dark scowl marred his pale face.

 _Ah, a woman_ , Dearka thought, amusedly. Somehow, hearing the silver-head's confession was not a surprise to him. He should've known that only a woman would make his best friend very unbecoming to the point that he cannot concentrate on his work. He knew that he himself wasn't the one who ticked off the man since right now they were amicably reviewing reports for their division, and, well, the blond wouldn't needle him so far to the point that Yzak would visibly snap at the tiniest thing that was out of place. And as for that woman, well, Dearka could safely say that there wasn't a lot of females' presence in Yzak's life. His mother was out of the list as the possible culprit for Dearka knew that she was retiring quietly in her humble abode back in Martius City. Lacus was also out of the question since the Chairwoman was currently on a diplomatic trip to Orb with her significant other for two days and Miriallia was someone who Yzak had warmed up to after being his best friend's girlfriend for so long. Plus, she wouldn't dare to put Yzak in his current brooding disposition. So all that was left was one particular brunette. And what kind of woman could leave the great Yzak so utterly miffed to the point where he looks like a walking time-bomber ticking dangerously to the number zero?

Shiho Hahnenfuss.

Now that he mentioned it, he had seldom seen a hair of the brunette today. She was present at the mock stimulation but now that he thought about it, she, too, was unusually silent. He vaguely recalled any memories of any interaction between Yzak and Shiho today. A peculiar notion if he might add. Usually, the brunette would be at Yzak's beck and call, always on standby whenever he was in need of her assistance for demonstrations. She would always pitch in every now and then during their training, almost never leaving his side. She was his designated and unofficial secretary for she would be the one who would come inside his office towed with documents for him to look over and sign and would aid him in the most tedious tasks that Dearka himself finds he could not accomplish without any relief. Her distinctive absence was alarming and Dearka finally could understand why his best friend was such in a crabby mood.

Actually, he did saw a glance of the brunette in late morning, just before their exercise. He was walking with Yzak to a conference room for a board meeting and the Red Coat just happened to passed by. He noticed that Yzak suddenly went visibly stiff and had an indescribable look on his face, which puzzled the blond. Shiho on the other hand had a blank expression on her face but her violet eyes were narrowed daggers, almost burning with sudden anger that Dearka himself seldom witnessed. To his astonishment, the subordinate didn't even bother to bat an eye to his silver-head companion, let alone saluting the latter. She simply took a moment to stop herself to salute to the blond—and _only_ him—before striding away towards the opposite direction. Their odd encounter perplexed Dearka beyond words as he watched Yzak silently fumed in boiling acrimony. Shiho had never, _never_ purposely not salute to Yzak and ignore the said man. Before he got a chance to inquire him about Shiho's quaint action, his best friend stomped away, perpetuating his ever-growing scowl all the way to their destination.

And about two hours ago, much to Dearka's surprise, the brunette had dropped off a considerably amount of afternoon paperwork to Yzak's office. Dearka, by chance, was present since he and Yzak had just finished a meeting with some ZAFT personnel from the other divisions and decided to tag-along with his best friend to his office. As the Red Coat Elite made her entrance, she was purposely ignoring the silver-head, bewildering Dearka even more and much to his chagrin, the brooding silver-head's mood took quite a turn for the worst, emitting a dark and menacing aura that was clouding the domain. She allegedly gave a ZAFT formal greeting—not one of her formal yet casual greetings she'd usually give to the commander—but one that was strict and _too_ formal that goes by the standard protocol in which it solely applied to the other ZAFT superiors in the military. The blond took noticed that not once had Shiho made any eye contact with Yzak. When she grudgingly saluted, she purposely was staring at his neckline instead of straight into his blue eyes. Her choppy and short explanation for the paperwork was hurriedly said in a manner that screamed she would rather be anywhere but here. Yzak never said a word for he was too busy glaring defiantly at the brunette but the latter stood her grounds and without another word, she promptly saluted the commander a goodbye and swiftly exited the room. The befuddled Black Coat could only scrunch his brows together, dumbfounded by the strange action of his subordinate before giving Yzak a weird look. Yzak deliberately avoided his penetrating gaze and diverted his attention back to the document and acted as if the last few minutes had never happened, perplexing the blond even further.

 _He must've had a quarrel with her_ , Dearka concluded. After that incident, Dearka decidedly stayed in Yzak's office, claiming that he wanted to help the silver-head with his load of paperwork albeit he has his own piles to finish of which Yzak reluctantly allowed him to do. But right now, this was far more important than some ZAFT documents that he never bothered to give a spare glance before signing. He wanted his best friend to fess up and spill the beans why he was moping around as if he was a mouse who lost his cheese.

The blond threw the document that he was half-heartedly overlooking on top of the desk—startling the silver-head by his friend's sudden action—before giving his undivided attention to Yzak. "What did you do to Shiho, buddy?" he queried, curiously with an unforeseen interest.

Yzak narrowed his blue eyes suspiciously to the blond man. "How did you know that it was Hahnenfuss? And why are you bluntly assuming that I am the one being held accountable for all of this?"

Dearka shrugged again, "Hate to break it to you, Yzak, but you lack a great deal of the female population in your life. Plus, whenever a man is spatting with a woman in a relationship, the woman is always right; it's just an unfortunate fact of life. Trust me, I learned that the hard way."

The said man scowled, "Shut up, I don't need your insightful observation. And we are not in a sort of relationship that you're currently experiencing."

The blond smirked, "You asked and I answered."

"And your perceptive insight was uncalled for," he flatly denoted, as he slowly sat back down on his chair. "And yes, Hahnenfuss is one incorrigible, unbearable, stubborn-willed, and the most irritable woman I have ever had the displeasure of knowing."

Dearka poorly suppressed his urge to chuckle, "You don't mean that."

" _I meant every word I said_!" Yzak asserted quite vocally. "I _had never_ and _will never_ understand how the mind of the opposite sex works! If I'd known that the female species pertains such bipolarized personality, I would've made sure that my whole goddamn division was woman-free!"

"Yzak, please, you're sounding like a sexist pig," he dryly stated, waving a hand depricatingly. But he had to agree with Yzak on one point. "Buddy, we men have been trying for centuries and we still can't find the right answer till this day. All we learned is that whenever a woman is angry at us, we wisely agreed that it is our fault to avoid any further conflicts," the blond told him, grimacing. "Especially if it's going to lead us sleeping on the couch for the night." The blond probably recalled many sordid memories of whenever he would argue with his girlfriend that inevitably ended up with him sleeping on their stiff couch in the living room for countless of nights as punishment.

Yzak scoffed at the cynical theory, "And it is one stupid philosophy that the male population concluded, if I may boldly say. We are not inept to willingly submit ourselves to a woman's authority just because she deduced that her sex is always right. In an argument, if the other one has a clear and valid point, _regardless of their sex_ , they win the argument, simple as that."

"How did it all started?" Dearka asked in wonderment, mirthful to what it seems that Shiho had the gall inside of her to stand up to the commander. Judging by the antagonizing face his best friend was making, it was going to be one long story so Dearka leaned back against his chair and propped both hands behind his head, awaiting for the untold narration.

The silver-head grumbled lowly, reliving the short and indecipherable memory of earlier today and it was not a pleasant one to recall. " _I don't even know_! This morning, she stopped by at my office to drop off some documents and she started some idle conversation and I went along with it. One minute we would be conversing about work and the latest model of ZAFT's artilleries and somehow one thing led to another and the next thing I know, our conversation escalated to a verbal spat all together!"

Unconvinced by his answer, Dearka pursued the topic even further. "And then?" he prompted, motioning a hand gesture that urged Yzak to continue on.

"We got into an argument," he deadpanned, dryly, "and what aggravates me the most is her complete refusal to believe that— _for even a damn second_ —she just might be the wrong one, wasn't even taken into any consideration!"

Dearka frowned at the declaration. Sure his brunette friend can be quite a stubborn mule but when she knows she's wrong, she'll gladly admit her fault. Shiho may be a woman, but she wouldn't be blinded by her emotions whenever she wanted to convey her message through. Point being, it could only mean that Yzak had said something that considerably pissed off the brunette to the point where she would voice her opinion quite exuberantly.

His best friend continued his rant, not noticing the frown that Dearka notably wore. "For every claim I generate I would always back it up with valid evidence! She, on the other hand, would simply disregard my statements as if they were unless five-minute reports unworthy of even having a minuscule of cognizance! Her rebuttals were backed up with baseless statements to the point that I couldn't even fathom what she was saying!"

The Black Coat quirked a brow. "Well, what was the outcome of it?"

Yzak crossed his arms over his chest and confidently stated with a harrumph, "I believe that _I_ made the most valid conclusion, hence, I decidedly won the premise."

"And what did Shiho do?"

"She marched out of my room without so much of a backward glance let alone, salute me," the silver-head spat, indignantly. In retrospect, she didn't even bother to stay to hear his last words to her.

Dearka had the urge to knack some senses into the silver-head but opted for a subtle action by simply shaking his head in disbelief. When will the man ever learn? "You may have won the dispute, Yzak. But even though you prevailed in ensuring that your point of view came across, you unwittingly lost."

Two pale fists pounded themselves on top of the desk. "Damnation, Elsman! Have you not been listening to a word I just said?!" he growled in ire.

"Perhaps you're the one who is not open-minded here," the Elsman heir boldly claimed, leaning causally against the back of his chair. He raised both hands up as a peace treaty in hopes to calm his friend since by the looks of it, Yzak was set to throttle his ass across the room. "Look, all I'm saying is that perhaps she was indeed wrong, but have you ever considered the thought that maybe _you're_ the one at fault?"

The White Coat's irritation amplified astronomically as a tic grew on the side of his temple. "Who are to judge? _You weren't even there!_ "

His blond friend inwardly sighed. Seriously, he cannot believe that he was lecturing a dense and stubborn person to not go overboard in a verbal spat with a woman. It truly teaches one to put forth the effort into being patient. "Yzak, have it ever cross your mind that Shiho is still a girl? I know how scary a woman can be when she is trying so hard not to blow up and possibly pummel you to death. And knowing how stubborn you are, I'm sure that Shiho is not the only one who's at fault here."

"I am _not_ at fault!" He stretchily declared, venomously, pointing a thumb towards his chest. "That _woman_ obstinately refused to acknowledge that I had a better _and_ credible point than hers!"

"Yzak, Shiho is not Athrun," Dearka stated, dryly.

At the mention of his archrival, the silver-head measurably scowled and squinted his eyes. "What does Zala have to do about any of this?"

"My point is that you cannot possibly expect that everything you said or do with Shiho are competitions. She's your subordinate, for crying out loud, not your rival. Your inadvertent action may have caused you to lose substantial amount of respect from her."

The Joule heir deliberately ignored that latter statement. "Of course I know that, Dearka, that's why I was trying to get my point across by winning the dispute."

"You're treating the argument as if it was a contest that you must win," Dearka deadpanned, peering straight into irritated blue orbs with half-lidded eyes. "Regardless of how you utilize your tactics."

"No, I am not. I'm treating it like an argument; _of which it is_!"

Dearka sighed in resignation and raised both hands in mock surrender. Arguing with him was like arguing with a wall, it refuses to budge no matter what you do to it. "You know what? Whatever, I'm dropping this subject." He had had just about enough of his tenacious attitude. He'd rather save his own breath than trying to attempt to make his best friend step out of his own shoes for once and see the bigger picture.

"Thank you," Yzak told him, grumbling. Frankly, he appreciated the closure of the topic for he does not wish to dwell on it any longer, "and for the records, I don't treat everything I do as a competition."

Blond brows were raised as Dearka sardonically nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh, whatever floats your boat, buddy," he muttered quietly. _I will simply watch you slowly fall into your own demise from this._

 _._

* * *

.

Truth be told, Dearka was silently and highly amused the very next day as he watched Yzak completely ignored the brunette subordinate all together. Judging by the how he was coldly treating Shiho, he concluded that this was a little payback because of how she was treating him yesterday.

But then, his permanent smirk faltered drastically as he began to take notice of how not only was their silent treatment to each other grew to flat out hostility, but it was consequentially and, well, notably taking a great toll on their teamwork. Their lack of communication had caused many of the underlying left confused on what to do, due to different and peculiar commands made by both Commander and Major, during a mock battle mode in which inadequately ended on a bad note—and the Joule Squadron's reputation of being one of the most elite and efficient team in all of ZAFT was almost tarnish because of it. And much to Dearka's horrification, their animosity was even further demonstrated during a conference with the representatives of the Asimov Design Bureau regarding the new designs of ZAFT's latest mobile suits. Yzak suggested a few alternations should be made to better enhance their performances when in battle mode. Shiho, being Yzak's most trusted subordinate and ace pilot, was present during the conference and had the gall to, well, disregarded the silver-head's suggestions by the brunette in the form of crude denotation. Her flippant remarks regarding his 'inability to take into any consideration regarding the factors of his alternative designs that may be deemed as a disadvantage in the battle fields' were depreciated by him. The other ZAFT personnel and the Bureau delegates watched in utter petrifaction as both commander and subordinate verbally dispute their differences right before their eyes. Dearka, mortified by his comrades' lack of professionalism and disciplinary, dragged both man and woman out of the meeting room before bashfully and profusely apologizing for his team members' inexcusable manners and informing the other ZAFT soldiers in the conference to brief him about the rest of the meeting. Before he could demand what the hell was the matter with the two of them, they both harrumphed and walked away from each other—much to his irritation.

The blond would be surprise if words about these two idiots quarrelling with each other hadn't gone around the headquarters as of yet. As if their humiliation and inability to put aside their personally problems at work wasn't enough. These two were acting like foolish children and it would be a wonder if Lacus hadn't request for his audience regarding the disastrous event that happened with the Design Bureau representatives.

But the Elsman heir thought that perhaps, like the proper well-breed adults they were, they would resolve this dawdle spat of theirs peacefully soon since their career as soldier was on the line…but, oh, how _wrong_ he was. This ongoing cold war of theirs continued till the _very_ next day…

… _And_ the day after that day.

 _And_ the day after that day and that day.

 _And_ the day after that day after that day and after that day.

 _And_ —oh, for the _love_ of Haumea, who the _hell_ was he kidding?

The whole damn _week_ was a collateral disaster thanks to those two.

In fact, their stubborn refusal to verbally recognize each other was not only affecting their division, but _everyone_ in the ZAFT Headquarters. Whenever other soldiers outside the Joule team had to give paperwork or even enquire things that pertains to work that was for either Yzak or Shiho, they opted to go to him. According to the victims of Yzak and Shiho's wrath, they refuse to even come within a meter near the pair since they were letting out their vexation to anyone within their vicinity. Hells, even the Chairwoman finally inquired him about his two friends' peculiar action with one another once she had returned from her envoy after getting a wind about Yzak and Shiho's intolerable behavior. Everything they do, it was mentally draining him to the point that he was about to have a mental breakdown. Miriallia even noted just how much he looked like shit after coming home from work. Consequentially—much to his utter humiliation and man pride—it has taken a negative impact on his sex life at home. _Damn_ those two idiots! He hasn't gotten a wink of sleep because he had to take work home, and for the life of him, he had never recall the last time he had taken work home. For Pete's sake, this was a freaking red alert. He was frustrated—yes, both sexually _and_ mentally—angry, agitated, annoyed, perplexed, bewildered, dumbfounded and all the damn adjectives that could explain his current and bizarre disposition.

Just how self-centred could they be?

He needed to put an end to his stupid spat of theirs or else…well, let's just say that his current position as a Captain will be at stake. This devious brain began to devise a plan that can end their irrelevant dispute once and for all.

.

* * *

.

"Dearka, where are you taking me?" Yzak grumbled, as he begrudgingly trod not far behind the said man.

Dearka stole a glance behind him and gave the silver-head a pointed look. "A meeting," was his simple reply and continued walking.

The White Coat's steps wavered and he halted himself for a few seconds, wondering if he had ever recall a meeting at this particular time on his agenda for the day. Finding the answer, he slowly continued his pace and squinted his eyes skeptically, "I don't recall any meetings today from my schedule."

He could sense the man in front of him rolling his eyes. "It's an emergency one, so quit yapping."

The White Coat scowled. "Dearka, if this is one of your scheme, I implore to stop this nonsense at all cost," he told him, highly unamused by the tedious delay in his schedule.

Sighing, Dearka took a corner turn at the end of the wide corridor before nodding a salute from an underlying on his way. "Just shut up and follow me."

Having enough of his little interrogation and the progression of it, or the lack thereof, Yzak opted to stay silent until they've reached their destination.

Yzak watched his friend stopped in front of the conference room and pulled out his ZAFT Identification card, scanning the card against the scanner. The light on the monitor turned green and the door slide open, granting access to him and his companion.

"No one is here yet?" the silver-head questioned, incredulously as he surveyed the empty room. He then gave a pointed look to Dearka. "Why are we early?"

"We're on time," he replied, tersely. "They're just running late."

This time, Yzak raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Running late? Since when have our military's commanders run late for a meeting?"

Dearka fought an urge to roll his eyes. "Since forever. Now wait here, I need to get something."

"Where are you going?" his friend queried, suspiciously. "And what do you need to get?" was added as an afterthought.

"I'll be back in a few, don't go anywhere," the blond simply replied, and departed without a backward glance at Yzak.

The latter stared at the threshold where his counterpart had departed from and couldn't help but to have a nagging feeling that something was up. Something about this abrupt meeting did not add up, this whole thing was too conceptive. Feeling slightly defeated for he had no motive to argue, Yzak decidedly took a seat on a vacant chair. Resting both elbows on top of the long table, he began to rhythmically rub his temples to ease the growing migraine. Goodness, when was the last time he had experience this sort of ache in his brain? This whole week seems like one long and tedious one, not to say the very least that it was all because of one particular subordinate who was explicitly ignoring his very existence. Just thinking about it brought a scowl on his face.

If only he had the guts to write her up for insubordination, but sadly, he cannot. Despite her incompetence to acknowledge his very existence, her flawless and productivity was unfathomable.

The sound of the door sliding open brought him back to reality and Yzak couldn't help but to release a sigh of relief. Finally, someone came in. Perhaps it was Dearka—

"Captain, what is this about an emergency— _you_." The last word was venomously directed towards him when violet eyes clashed with his blue ones. Yzak's eyes almost blew out of its sockets. _For Christ's sake, you've got to be kidding me._

"You," he flatly denoted. "Why are you here?" The words were said in a rather condescending way as Yzak glared defiantly at the brunette who was equally mirroring his dark look right back at him.

The newly counterpart snorted ungracefully. "I should be asking the same question to you, Commander Joule, why are _you_ here?" Shiho retorted, equally menacing. The way she stood tall and rebellious with her arms crossed made him want to show his violent version of disciplinary. How dare she defy him, her commanding officer?

"I was called down here for an emergency meeting with the other commanders, which by the way, you don't hold that title," he reminded, keeping his tone steady yet cold.

Shiho gritted her teeth. "Pardon me, _Commander,"_ the word 'commander' was said so spitefully that Yzak's glare on her multiplied tenfold, "perhaps you're in the wrong conference room, I was called in for meeting with the head branches of your division, and Captain Elsman ensured me that you weren't going to attend this."

 _Dearka said what?_

Before Yzak could retort a cheeky comeback, a buzzing sound coming from the overhead projector at the end of the long table hummed its way to life, projecting a hologram image of the one and only blond mastermind. The hologram began to make static sizzles for a few seconds as it stabilized its signal in the board room.

Amethyst eyes riveted their attention from one person to the other and nodded. " _Good, the party has assembled_ ," the hologram Dearka said in satisfaction.

"What is the meaning of this, Dearka?" Yzak queried, annoyed. "Is there even a meeting to begin with?"

"Yes, Officer Elsman, why am I here with _him_?" Her tone was dripping with disgust at the last said word.

"Shut up, Major Hahnenfuss. You don't need to ask such redundant question," he hissed to the woman.

The only woman snorted. "Oh? So now I need to ask permission if I want to ask questions. Quite quaint of you, Commander," she replied, tartly.

"I'm getting out of here," Yzak announced, marching towards the door. Before he could press the button, Dearka interjected, " _I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's useless to even try to open the door with your access pass. I locked the room so no one can get out._ "

"You did _what_?" his friend echoed in disbelief.

"I'm calling for maintenance," Shiho piped in, already fishing for her mobile device from her pocket.

Dearka tsk-ed. " _I wouldn't do that either. There's a reason why all board room has no service for mobile devices available if you haven't forgotten, Yzak_."

"Who would've thought that our good ole commander is a forgetful person," Shiho snickered.

Yzak's glare intensified. "Why I ought to—"

" _ **SHUT UP**_!"

As if someone had taken over the silver-head's soul, the commander obediently shut his trap. Whether it was because he was completely bewildered by his best friend's sudden outburst or, for lack of a better word, a soldier's _instinct_ to obey a said order that was directed to him, he complied without any resistances. Even though the command wasn't directed towards her, Shiho silently acquiesced and promptly pursed her lips. Perhaps she was rather dumbfounded by the Dearka that she was witnessing now. Now that she actually had a good look at Dearka, the blond was looking rather…distress. His blond locks that were usually swept back professionally were unceremoniously dishevelled.

The blond in the monitor glared. " _I don't want to hear another peep coming out of your mouths, you_ hear me _?! I had just about enough of this goddamn foolishness_!"

Yzak and Shiho could only stare at their friend as if he had sprouted a second head.

" _YOU! Sit there_!" He pointed at Yzak to the chair nearest him. " _And YOU, sit over there_!"

Shiho began, warily, "Um, Dearka, are you—"

" _No, I am not okay, if that's what you're asking_!" He rebutted, miffed.

"Dearka—" Yzak interjected, indigently.

" _SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP, YZAK_!" Ranks be damned. It was time to settle some scores with these two childish adults.

Immediately, both subordinate and commander wordlessly complied.

" _None of you will step out of this room, you hear me? Now you idiots listen closely, and don't you dare interrupt me until I have to say what I have to say_." He gave Yzak a pointed look as if daring him to defy his order.

" _Do you see these_?!" he demanded, darkly, pointing to the dark semi-rings under his eyes. Both Yzak and Shiho mutely nodded, but their attention wasn't on the dark circles, but rather his blood-shot eyes that were constantly flickering its glaring gaze back and forth from one counterpart to the next.

" _These damn dark circles underneath my eyes?! This is the product of only one motherfucking hour of sleep every goddamn night this past week! You want to know why? I'll tell you why! It's 'cause of you two! All because of countless of sleepless nights staying up trying to finish work! BOTH of your work! Everyone in this goddamn military are scared to death whenever they're around you two so instead of giving your designated workload to the both of you, you know what they do? They reassigned those blasted paperwork to me! To me! Do you know how hard it is trying to finish your load of crap on top of mine own?_ _ **NO**_ _! Because you two idiots were too engrossed with ignoring each other's very existence, that's why! So, thank you very much! And you know what else sucks? The last time I had sex with my girl was two weeks ago! I've been abstaining from sex for two goddamn weeks because every day I come home, I would immediately crash! So, help me god, I will make sure that the two of you will make up today. I don't care how you do it, I don't care who gets hurt, or who loses, or if there's going to be some major make up sex, I. Don't. Care. Just_ _ **FIX THIS MESS NOW**_ _._ " Seconds after, the hologram signalled off with a tersely buzzing sound, leaving two dumbfounded soldiers staring blankly ahead.

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* * *

.

Yzak had long abandoned to check the time, counting how many minutes, or possibly hours had elapsed. For the longest moment of his life, he simple sat in his seat, silently fuming and making a long mental list of what he was going to do to that stupid needling blond once he was out of this forsaken room. The eerie silence was practically suffocating him, unsettling him in a manner that made his throat chafe from discomfort. His counterpart was equally silent and still as he was. He peered from the corners of his eyes and found Shiho arms crossed and was purposely averting her attention to anywhere but him, an action she has been doing for the past god knows how long they've been confined in this place.

After Dearka ended his rather long and too-much-information reprimanding, both companions simply sat quietly on their chair like they were instructed to do earlier without so much of an exchange with one another—not that he blamed her. He could practically feel her brooding from the opposite end of the table. He had simply gave her one last intensifying glare before harrumphing down on his seat and much to his inclination, the blasted woman had the audacity to return an equally strong glare back at him. Yeah, whatever, it's not like he wanted to be stuck in a place with her either, so suck it up princess. This stupid ploy that was orchestrated by Dearka wasn't doing any good. For Christ's sake, the woman refused to cooperate with him let alone breathe a word regarding this whole thing. She simply sat there all prim and proper on his seat, shifting every now and then whenever she felt the need to, all at once blatantly ignoring his very existence like she has been doing for the past week.

Damn stubborn woman.

She was the embodiment of the female species that was obstinately too much of a headstrong person.

Why does the female population believe that the opposite sex should be the one who apologizes first? Now that, right there, was sexist. Both men and women are treated equal in this day and age so why is it that the male species are always the one to be blame? Why must she always argue with him? Was it that hard to just say the apologetic words to someone—?

"I'm sorry."

—and just go with life and put everything in the past? Like yeah, he did hear the words—wait, _what_?

Yzak's head snapped up to glance at the woman sitting across from him. His scowling features faltered just a fraction as he stared in disbelief. "What did you say?"

From the looks of it, Shiho looked as if she was having an internal debate herself considering how she was facing to the side with her face beat red (perhaps from defeat or humiliation). The tinted blossom clearly showed just how much she had mustered up the courage to say those words. "I'm sorry," she muttered out once again, sounding as if she really had the difficulty saying those words to him.

He didn't answer. He merely stared at her as if he was a damn deer in the headlights. Though his mind was currently turning its wheels as if a hamster decided to do some serious running on its own wheels. Clearly, he was not expecting her to say anything in their time of confinement, let alone a word of apology to him.

Assuming that her commander hadn't acknowledge her apology, she looked up and her eyes were compelled to his blue ones. "I said I was sorry," she repeated once again, a tad bit louder than before.

"I heard you the first time," he finally said, sighing.

"Then why aren't you taunting me with an 'I-know-that-I-was-right face?" she queried, curiously.

He gave her a flat look, "What do you take me for? A tyrant?"

Her only response was a shrug.

He exhaled heavily. "No, I should be the one that's apologizing."

She blinked, uncomprehendingly, almost as if she didn't believe the words that had come out of his mouth. "Come again?"

Yzak gritted his teeth. He hated repeating himself twice. But conditions like these call for exceptions. "I'm _. Sorry_." He said, enunciating the words loudly and separately to give it a fuller affect. "It's just…I tend to take things seriously when it comes to arguments. Old habits, I guess. So again, I apologize for my indiscreet behavior for these past few days."

For a minute, the pretty brunette merely stared hard at him with an indecipherable look that he couldn't make out of. And then finally, to his astonishment, she laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, irritated and felt thoroughly insulted that she was mocking his apology.

Her laughter died a notch, "Forgive me, Commander, it's just…what were we even fighting about?"

He paused to think, but came up with nothing for he, too, did not remember why. "I don't even know," he chuckled, dryly. "I believe it was something irrelevant though which led me to insult your sex on numerous occasions."

Shiho wryly smiled. "Oh, I take no offense since I was also insulting yours, too. But, I agree. I must admit, Officer Elsman was right for one thing, we were acting like children."

Yzak chuckled humorlessly, "You don't say? Well, we were the cause of some catastrophic events these past few days, so I'm assuming we should make amends."

"And lift our burdens from Dearka," Shiho added, snickering. "So, truce?"

"Truce," he nodded and for the first time in days, he smiled at her. "Now, can we please get out of here? I don't know about you but I'm tired from stilling on one uncomfortable chair and would like to resume my work. I'm sure that dumb blond has been watching us for the past hour or so, so he'll probably unlock the door already."

Shiho was the first one to stand and began to make her way towards the door. She pulled out her identification card from her pocket and slid it across the designated slot. She frowned when the lights flickered red, signalling that it had denied her access from exiting the alcove. Perhaps she slid it on the wrong side, she thought optimistically. But much to her chagrin, she had slid her card with the correct side. Growing impatient, she slid her card once more, this time slower in hopes for the machine to read it properly, but once again, the result was the same.

Noticing how his subordinate seemed to be having difficulties opening the door, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"The door."

"What about the door?"

"It's still lock," Shiho replied, apprehensively. "It won't read my card."

The silver-head scrunched his brows as a frown marred his face. "Well, can you reach building maintenance? Or perhaps Dearka?"

The brunette gave him a deadpanned look. "There's no signal. Plus, from the looks of it, the emergency button in the card reader was purposely jammed." She pointed to the red emergency button next to the card reader that was evidently jammed by some kind of unnatural force. Yzak couldn't help but to come up with a familiar looking tanned face in his mind whom he assumed would do such a thing.

Both commander and subordinate stared at each other for a long moment, looking quite grimed at their sticky situation, until finally, Yzak broke the silence, trembling in an uncontrollable amount of sudden fury that made the brunette took an involuntarily step back from where she stood.

"Oh, I'm going to _murder_ that idiot."

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 _Fin._


End file.
